Spring loaded compressive forces may be used in material bonding processes (e.g., welding, soldering, brazing, epoxy function, etc.), using base plates, plungers, and/or high-temperature resistant springs (e.g., compressible). The plungers, each equipped with one of the high-temperature resistant springs, may provide a localized pressure and/or may be individually placed onto a designated surface of parts to be bonded. In one example, the plungers may be established and/or arranged atop a single-side and/or double-sided surface of the parts to be bonded following a specific pattern and/or array. Single sided configurations may require the placement of the plungers on the surface of the parts to be bonded, whereas, a double sided arrangement may require placing the plungers on the appropriate accompanying base plate. The parts to be bonded may then be placed between the base plates. The base plates (e.g., two base plates) may be pressed together until the base plates reach a desired distance, providing a specific resultant compressive force.
In a high-density plunger array (e.g., an assembly requiring 225 plungers), individually placing the plungers and/or associated components (e.g., spring assemblies) in their appropriate locations on the critical surfaces of the parts to be bonded or base plates may be very tedious and time-consuming. Even if the plungers and/or the associated components are successfully placed on the parts to be bonded or base plates, the plungers may tip over and/or become misaligned rather easily during the positioning of the base plates. Furthermore, accurately repeating a process of applying the compressive force may require a manual unloading and/or reloading of the plungers for each cycle of processing, which may become very time-consuming and tedious, especially in a case of the high-density plunger array.
A template of a specific pattern may be used to accurately place the plungers in necessary locations. The template may be designed (e.g., machined) to have holes slightly larger than a contact surface of each of the plungers. However, using the template may still be very labor intensive and/or time-consuming, especially when the high-density plunger array is required. In addition, removal of the template (e.g., or two templates) may be troublesome if the plungers are not accurately concentric with holes of the template, especially for patterns and/or arrays positioned on the base plate. Removing the template may cause plungers to fall over, further frustrating the process.